Matt Kegel connects for three TD passes as No. 21 Washington State upends 10th-ranked Oregon.
By The Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. – Washington State quickly made Oregon’s recent success look like a fluke.

Matt Kegel threw for three touchdowns and steadily guided the No. 21 Cougars, who took advantage of seven-first half turnovers to beat the 10th-ranked Ducks 55-16 Saturday.

Oregon (4-1, 1-1 Pacific-10) grabbed national attention with last weekend’s 31-27 upset of No. 3 Michigan, but was done in by its own mistakes.

Washington State (4-1, 1-0), the defending Pac-10 champions, went to the air to stymie the Ducks – who had successfully stopped Michigan’s rushing game.

Kegel completed 13 of 33 passes for 242 yards for the Cougars, who also got a pair of scoring runs from Jermaine Green. The Cougars’ only loss of the season came on Sept. 6, when they blew a 19-0 lead and lost 29-26 in overtime at Notre Dame.

California 34,

No. 3 USC 31

BERKELEY, Calif. – Tyler Fredrickson made a 38-yard field goal to end a third crazy overtime as California upset No. 3 Southern California 34-31 Saturday.

Ryan Killeen, who tied it with a 33-yard field goal for the Trojans with 16 seconds left in regulation, missed a 39-yarder moments before Fredrickson’s kick.

No. 4 Ohio St. 20, Northwestern 0

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No offense, but Ohio State’s defense did it again.

With linebacker A.J. Hawk leading the charge, the fourth-ranked Buckeyes limited Northwestern to 185 yards to win their 19th straight game, 20-0 Saturday.

The Buckeyes clearly miss star running back Maurice Clarett, suspended for at least a year for violating NCAA rules, but it hasn’t been enough to stop them yet.

No. 5 Virginia Tech 47, Connecticut 13

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech overwhelmed Connecticut with its trademark Beamerball, returning an interception, kickoff and blocked punt for touchdowns in a 47-13 victory Saturday.

The fifth-ranked Hokies (4-0), who have specialized in scoring on special teams and defense under coach Frank Beamer, got Nos. 62, 63 and 64 in the last 116 games as they took a 40-0 lead early in the third quarter.

No. 6 Florida St. 56,

Duke 7

DURHAM, N.C. – Chris Rix threw two touchdown passes and A.J. Nicholson and Antonio Cromartie added defensive touchdowns as No. 6 Florida State beat Duke 56-7 on Saturday night.

B.J. Ward blocked two field goals for the Seminoles (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who got rushing touchdowns from three players and improved to 12-0 in the series.

No. 9 Arkansas 34, Alabama 31

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Backup Chris Balseiro kicked a 19-yard field goal in the second overtime and No. 9 Arkansas came back from a 21-point deficit to beat Alabama 34-31 Saturday. The Razorbacks (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference), who trailed 31-10 midway through the third quarter, tied the game on Matt Jones’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Richard Smith with 27 seconds to play.

No. 11 Michigan 31, Indiana 17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Steve Breaston scored touchdowns on a punt return and a reception as No. 11 Michigan bounced back from a deflating loss at Oregon with a lackluster 31-17 win over Indiana on Saturday.

Despite four turnovers, the Wolverines (4-1) led 31-3 late in the fourth quarter.

But they gave up two touchdowns in the final 4:16 against the Hoosiers (1-4) in the Big Ten opener for both schools.

Michigan State 20,

No. 13 Iowa 10

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jeff Smoker threw touchdown passes on Michigan State’s first two possessions and broke three school career passing records in a 20-10 victory over No. 13 Iowa on Saturday,

Smoker, 28-of-44 for 218 yards, set school marks for completions (478), attempts (818) and touchdown passes (48).

He was 13-of-15 for 94 yards in the first quarter in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 37, Texas A&M 26

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Rod Rutherford threw five touchdown passes with help from his acrobatic receivers in No. 17 Pittsburgh’s 37-26 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday.

Rutherford was 14-of-28 for 283 yards and an interception as Pittsburgh (3-1) rebounded from a loss last week at Toledo.

Larry Fitzgerald had seven catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns, and Princell Brockenbrough had three receptions for 100 yards and one TD.

No. 18 Washington 28, Stanford 17

SEATTLE – Cody Pickett threw two touchdown passes to Reggie Williams and Rich Alexis ran for 128 yards and a score as No. 18 Washington beat Stanford 28-17 in the Pac-10 opener for both schools Saturday.

The Huskies (3-1) improved to 20-2 against the Cardinal (2-1) since 1976. Stanford hasn’t won in Seattle since 1975, an 11-game streak.

No. 20 N. Illinois 24,

Iowa St. 16

DEKALB, Ill. – Michael Turner ran for 134 yards and one touchdown, and Josh Haldi threw two TD passes as No. 20 Northern Illinois beat Iowa State 24-16 on Saturday.

The win gave the Huskies (4-0) a perfect 3-0 record against teams from BCS conferences.

They knocked off Maryland in overtime to open the season, and beat Alabama on the road last Saturday.

No. 22 Purdue 23,

Notre Dame 10

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kyle Orton passed for two touchdowns and Ben Jones kicked three field goals as No. 22 Purdue handed Notre Dame its third straight loss, 23-10 Saturday.

The Boilermakers (3-1), who had lost three straight to the Irish because of turnovers, turned the tables Saturday, as interceptions set up a touchdown and a field goal.

Stuart Schweigert had two interceptions and Gilbert Gardner and Niko Koutouvides had one each to spoil freshman Brady Quinn’s first career start.

It was just the third victory in 18 years for the Boilermakers over the Irish, who are off to a 1-3 start for the fourth time in seven years.

Kansas 35, No. 23 Missouri 14

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Bill Whittemore and Clark Green each scored two touchdowns and Kansas’ maligned defense shut down Brad Smith to lead the Jayhawks past No. 23 Missouri 35-14 Saturday.

Whittemore scored on two short runs and engineered touchdown drives of 72, 50 and 49 yards in the fourth quarter.

No. 24 Minnesota 20, Penn St. 14

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Marion Barber III ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, and 24th-ranked Minnesota held off Penn State 20-14 Saturday in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Barber gained 49 yards on the Golden Gophers’ final scoring drive, which took 6:17 and ended with Rhys Lloyd’s 30-yard field goal, giving Minnesota (5-0) a 20-14 lead with 2:21 left.

No. 25 Florida 24, Kentucky 21

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Johnny Lamar’s 35-yard interception return set up Ron Carthon’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:15 remaining as No. 25 Florida rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Kentucky 24-21 Saturday.

Trailing 21-3 after three quarters, the Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) scored three touchdowns in the fourth to complete the biggest road comeback in school history.

Florida’s largest previous road rally was from 17 points behind in a 1993 win at South Carolina.

Kentucky’s Taylor Begley missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt with 44 seconds left that could have forced overtime. The Wildcats (2-3, 0-2) haven’t defeated a ranked team at home since 1999 and hadn’t even led Florida at halftime since 1988.